July 22, 1998
STATEMENT OF WILLIAM KENNARD,
CHAIRMAN, FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
ON THE RELEASE OF LOCAL EXCHANGE COMPANY BEST PRACTICES
TO COMBAT "CRAMMING"
Today the American consumer found a friend in the battle against "cramming" -- the local
telephone company.
I congratulate the broad cross-section of local telephone companies that released today a
code of "best practices" guidelines to combat cramming.
Two months ago, I called upon the industry to work together to find solutions to the
problem of cramming. Consumers needed a rapid response to eliminate this rapidly-growing
consumer fraud.
Today, help is at hand. The local exchange industry has met this challenge through the
release of these timely, meaningful guidelines that will go a long way towards protecting
consumers from unauthorized charges on their telephone bills.
I call upon all companies now to implement measures to fight cramming expeditiously
and aggressively, and I applaud those companies who have already announced the adoption of
new policies to combat cramming.
We will continue to monitor and address consumer complaints involving cramming. In
the first half of this year, the Commission has processed more than 300 cramming complaints a
month. With today's action, these complaints should drop. We stand ready to take additional
action, if necessary, to stop cramming.
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